It's now been just over two years since I purchased my Orion 12" Intelliscope and threw myself headlong back into amateur astronomy. The past two years have been packed with fun and adventure, and in a month or two things will start again in earnest for hopefully another banner year. Although my focus will continue to be the NGC catalog, I will explore all corners of a constellation, leaving no deep sky object or outstanding double star unobserved.
2014 was an incredible year for my unique observing program, and for sheer number of nights of observing and total number of hours, it comes in second only to 2013. I have been keeping records of my observations since 1968, and have had many very good years in there. However, nothing compares to the quantity and quality of observations over the past two years. Those two years have both had crappy beginnings (January is a fearsome month in Canada) and endings (November and December both years have been unbelievably cloudy, except near the full moons). The middle parts of a year are sometimes not so great, either. However, when we do get a good month, it can mean many hours of observing, including several nights in a row. I am fortunate in that I can usually make use of any available clear night.
So, what made 2014 special? I set up the scope and observed 52 times! Considering that there are about 180 available nights for some moonless observing, that means the ratio of clear nights to cloudy is about 1:3.6. Not exactly ideal for a rabid astronomer, but it's the best Nature can do for me. During those 52 nights, I stayed out for 165 hours of intense observing; on average just over three hours per session.
In that time I was able to observe no less than 437 deep sky objects! That's even better than last year, so my skills at locating objects have improved, and so has my observing eye. Practice does make one better! That's 2.6 objects per hour of observing, so I am not hurrying through the sky, but rather taking my time and enjoying the view, whatever might be in the eyepiece.
How am I doing with my NGC project? I observed 248 new (to me) NGC objects, and 27 from the IC. In addition I was able to observe 83 objects from other catalogs, all listed on Uranometria 2000 charts. I also reviewed 79 NGC/IC objects with the 12" that I had seen previously with my 8" Edmund reflector. I do not yet have a final count of how many NGC objects I have logged in my life, but I am working on it (990, as of the end of 2014). Also, I am working on a list of how many of these objects are possible from my location. It's one thing to say that there are 7800+ objects up there, but many of those are in southern latitudes. So I am compiling a to-do list of how many I can see from my latitude (42 degrees N). I will report both of these figures in a future blog once they are complete. I'm guessing that my life list is now at around 1,000 NGC objects, though likely short of that figure.
What were the observing highlights of 2014 for me? Certainly one had to be my increased skill guiding my scope and locating very faint objects. I have been doing this for years now with my right eye, which is deteriorating rapidly due to a cataract. I used to observe with my left eye, but it developed a cataract that ripened very quickly. It (the cataract) was removed in November, so I am hoping to begin using a near-perfect eye for observing in 2015! The limited amount of observing I have done with it already is very encouraging. So finding faint fuzzies might be easier than ever in 2015!
I made progress in Lepus and Monoceros towards the end of last winter, and hope to do so again this year. Monoceros is so loaded down with fine objects, though most people only observe a few of them. My jaunt through this area has been most rewarding, even though in winter I am usually stuck on my back deck, which is seriously light-polluted.
In Spring my attention turns to Leo and then to Bootes, and last year it was a great year for both constellations. Leo, sadly, passes through the Spring skies at breakneck speed, and it will take me years and years to finish work here. Bootes, on the other hand, stays up there well into summer, so I should be able to finish up work here in two or three years.
Last summer I was able to redo three constellations that I had very much enjoyed seeing with the Edmund 8". Aquila, Delphinus and Sagitta are wonderful areas to explore with a 12" scope, and I really took my time observing here, even finding some of the faintest galaxies imaginable. Resolving M 71 almost to the core was certainly a highlight for me! Then I began work in Sagittarius, and I can't wait to get back here in 2015. This might be my favourite constellation--it is loaded down with many of the finest deep sky objects anywhere, and I can access most of them from my latitude. There are a few faint galaxies that will have to wait for a more southerly site.
When autumn came around I finished up a few objects in Cassiopeia, then moved on to Cepheus. I still have to do a summation essay of my work in Cassiopeia (watch for it here soon), and I have one page left to complete in Cepheus (about eight or nine objects). I inched along in Cetus, and even did a bit of work in Taurus before the weather obliterated observations for the year.
Finding a particular highlight is not possible. Many of the nights were superb, and almost magical in their transparency and seeing. It's the best possible feeling when you are setting up at sunset and you know it's going to be a great night! Those are the nights that make the hobby worthwhile, and keep me coming back hoping for more of the same. Whenever the weather clears up and warms a bit, I will resume work in Lepus and Monoceros. I am anxious to get going, and hope that February will offer at least a few opportunities to observe without freezing conditions. Usually I am fine for several hours if it isn't much colder than 25 F. Much colder than that and things become more complicated, especially trying to keep fingers warm while changing eyepieces, scribbling notes and sketches, and keeping batteries alive on flashlights and the push-to computer.
Clear skies to everyone hoping to observe in 2015!
Mapman Mike
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